eSports
Charlie Fripp, Kwese ESPN 7y

Amateur SA esports teams get a shot at professional tournament

esports

How many times have you watched esports and thought 'oh, why did he do that?" or "I would have been able to make that shot"?

Well, now is the time to prove that your amateur Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team can keep up with professional side.

Matrix Warehouse together with South African esports organisation Mettlestate, yesterday announced a new esports tournament specifically designed to give amateur teams a taste of what it's like to play (and be treated) like professionals.

The Matrix Maverick Challenge will start on 17 July, and will see eight up-and-coming teams battle it out for their share of R50 000 in prizes.

"Earlier this year Mettlestate hosted the Samsung CS:GO Championship which saw some of SA's top CS team competing for their share of a R1 million prize pool. That event went off incredibly well and was a great opportunity for the established teams to compete for a nice prize. This time though, we are focusing time and prizes on the up-and-coming gamers," explained Barry Louzada, co-founder of Mettlestate.

Louzada added that with all the esports tournament in South Africa, there is a slim chance of amateur teams making it through to any stage - which is why the Matrix Maverick Challenge was created.

"All of the other tournaments have all the top tier teams playing in them already, and the chances of the smaller teams qualifying, let alone winning anything, becomes more and more difficult. We really want this tournament to bring the smaller teams up to the same level as the more established and professional teams," Louzada said.

The eight competing teams will be announced next week with the tournament running through until mid-September, where one team will be crowned the winner. Mettlestate of course has a professional tournament as well, and part of the Maverick Challenge prize is a wild card entry into the next Mettlestate CS:GO tournament. 

"This Matrix Maverick Cup will be run on the same principles as we do our bigger tournaments, so these young gamers will get a taste of how things are run and done in the bigger tournaments, and to show them what is expected of them in the big leagues," concludes Louzada.

Other prizes include R50 000 in hardware vouchers from Matrix Warehouse; a full social and branding make-over for the team which includes logo redesigns if needed; and professional Esports shirts designed and printed for them. 

For more info, watch the YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNQAczhpsAI&feature=youtu.be

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